Watch-crystal tray



1,625,754 Aprll 19, 1927. v T. TOBITA I WATCH CRYSTAL TRAY Filed April22. 1926 11v VEA! 012. iam/p gpb/z ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

UNITED, STATES 1,625,754 PATENT OFFICE.

TOSI-IIO TOBIT'A, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 KONISHI KOTAKUDOCOMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WATCH-CRYSTAL TRAY.

Application filed April 22, 1926.

This invention is a tray for watch crystals adapted to be used by retailjewelers and watchn'iakers, etc., for holding watch glasses or crystalsin convenient and accessible position and from which crystals may beseparately withdrawn as occasion may require. In practice, the tray ispreferably in the form of a drawer adapted with several other drawers ofsimilar construction to occupy a suitable cabinet.

Trays for holding: watch crystals have long been employed- They aregenerally in the form of a relatively shallow drawer dividedlongitudinally and transversely by partitions into a large number ofcompartments of such size as to receive the crystals when stood on edge.'lrays of this character are thoroughly satisfactory for circular watchcrystals. At the present time, however, crystals, iiarticularly forwrist watches, are made in a great variety of shapes and sizes, and suchshapes are, in many cases, of such irregular character that the crystalscannot be eifectively stacked on edge in the tray and can only be laidflat. hen a number of these various shaped crystals of different sizesare in a compartment of the tray, lying fiat, it is almost impossible attimes to get them out of the tray and in any event, the removal of thecrystals cannot be accomplished with that degree of ease and dexteritydesired by the trade.

With these considerations in mind, the object of the present inventionis to provide a tray for watch glasses or crystals in which the glassesmay be received into the several compartments in such manner as to lieon an inclined surface up which they may be moved by drawing thecrystals edgewise. To this end, the tray is provided with a plurality ofcoi'npartn'ients as before, but in the bottom of each compartment ispositioned a filler piece which slopes from the upper forward edge ofeach compartment to the lower rear edge thereof, while the rear wall ofeach compartment extends vertically as before. The vertical rear wallserves to slightly separate the crystals if they are of the same size,while the exposed surface of the sloping filler wall guides theuppermost crystal out of the compartment when it is drawn lightlyforward by a finger applied thereto.

Vi ith a tray, constructed as described, no

Serial No. 103,736.

diiiiculty is encountered in the removal or glasses of all shapes andsizes from the various compartments and, moreover, this may beaccomplished in a thoroughly expeditious manner.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparentfrom the hereinafter detailed description and claim, when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of theinvention. but the construction shown therein is to be understood asillustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure l is a perspective view showing a watch glass tray embodying thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is section on the line 92 of Figure l; and,

Figures 3 and -flare perspective views of different forms of fillerpieces, one of which is associated with each compartment of the tray.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a tray which, in practice, isgenerally in the form of a relatively large shallow drawer, a pluralityof which are adapted to be associated in a suitable cabinet. Tofacilitate the handling of the tray, it is preferably provided withhandles or knobs 2. I

The interior of the tray is divided by a plurality of intersectinglongitudinal and transverse partitions 3 and 4, respectively. into arelatively large number of compartments. The partitions can beconveniently intersected by half lapping the partitions with respect toone another at each line of intersection. This gives a strong durableconstruction.

Permanently secured in each compartment is a tiller piece 5 or 5 of thecharacter shown in either Figures 3 or 4:. This filler piece ispreferably in the form of a block adapted to fit into a compartment andthe upper portion of which block is cut away to form an inclinedsurface, which when the block is in place in the compartment, willextend from the forward upper edge of the compartment to the lower rearedge. All of the compartments are constructed in the manner describedand the filler pieces are permanently secured therein preferably byglue.

It will be noted from Figure 3 that the inclined surface 6 is concaveand from Figure 4 that the inclined surface 6 is straight. In eitherinstance, the slope of these surfaces will cause the glasses 7 togravitate into a position wherein their rear edges will engage with theupstanding vertical hack 8 of the compartment in which they are placed.This will cause a slight canting of the glasses as shown in Figure 2,whereby each successive glass will be slightly separated from the nextpreceding glass to facilitate the removal of the glasses individually.

I consider it important to form the rear face of each compartment with avertical wall as this arrangement automatically positions the glasses inthe stepped relation shown in Figure 2 and assures their ready removalparticularly when a straight sloping bottonn such as shown in Figure l,is employed and this is the preferred form of the invention. lVith thisarrangement, the glasses may be individually removed with the greatestease and will not have the slightest tendency to stick or dig into theslope of the filler block.

The tray may be constructed from any suitable material, but I find itconvenient and desirable in practice to make it of wood. since it can.be economically manufactured from this material, and, moreover, the woodwill not scratch the watch crystals.

Actual practice has demonstrated the high efficiency of the tray of thisinvention over trays of the prior art, particularly for the reception ofwatch glasses of other than circular form, although the invention isthoroughly practical and highly useful even when employed to holdcircular glasses.

The specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practicalform, but the invention is to be understood fully commensurate with theappended claim.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A watch crystal holder embodying a tray divided by a plurality ofintersecting longitudinal and transverse partitions into a p111- ralityof rectangular compartments having vertical walls, and a separatelyformed tiller piece seated on the bottom and contacting with the sidewalls of said compartments, said tiller piece having a gradually curvedupper face sloping dmvmvardly from the upper edge of the forward wall ofeach compartment and merging into the bottom adjacent the rear wallthereof, whereby the said rear wall will serve to slightly separate thecrystals when placed in a stacked relation on said filler piece.

In testimony whereof I have signed the foregoing specification.

TOSHIO TOBITA.

